


Incredible! 100 Year Old Man Finds Love

by bangyababy



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: A little angst, Buzzfeed, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, Getting Together, Humor, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Memes, Shrunkyclunks, Trolling, dms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-24 19:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22063081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bangyababy/pseuds/bangyababy
Summary: After Steve finds an article poking fun at his internet usage he tracks down the author's Twitter to give him a piece of his mind. Steve Rogers isnota meme and it's imperative Bucky Barnes knows that.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 52
Kudos: 489





	Incredible! 100 Year Old Man Finds Love

**Author's Note:**

> I said I was gonna get up to 50 works this year and here we are!!
> 
> Also a lot of these are real things old people have posted on the internet. My personal favorite is “gonna get me some good beans!”

It was supposed to be a joke. And really, it was, just not the joke Steve had intended. Steve had just been trying to mess with Tony, and yeah, they had told him, “It’s the internet, Steve, it’s there  _ forever. _ ” And Steve knew that, because contrary to what everyone thought, Steve did actually know how to use the internet. Sure, he wasn’t as social media savvy as people who grew up on it were, and it took him a long time to figure out the slang, but he understood it. He knew what a meme was.

And now he was one. 

**21 Captain America Posts That Will Make You Lol**

This was honestly all Tony’s fault. The only reason Steve had made the posts in the first place was to troll (see? he understood the lingo) Tony. 

Steve clicks the link and opens the article the first post is a screenshot of his Twitter and the post reads “Just stopping by to say hello.” Okay, admittedly, that one  _ was  _ from when he didn’t really understand how social media worked. 

The next is a screenshot of a convo between him and Sam posted to Sam’s Twitter, that showed Steve texting him “Yeah I’ve been I can godammit I’m sorry to be cussing when you called but oh Christ I think me my phone is still recording and I know what I just said got tied down to you there oh Christ Tony how do I turn this thing off I just fucking hate this phone thing.”

And  _ okay _ that one was because he was in the middle of a fight with some sandmen and he really hadn’t even meant to text him, but Sam had called and he had somehow managed to hang up the call with Sam and text him instead. They should really be commending him on his excellent multitasking skills. 

As he moves farther down the list, most of the posts are either him trolling or an accident that was really not his fault. Really. He has to admit some of them are pretty funny. Like the tweet that says “How to use Twitter, please???????” Tony sent him several exasperated texts and a link to a Twitter how to guide, even though he already knew. There’s his first selfie on Instagram which is him looking a little constipated into the camera (how was he  _ supposed to know _ about the front flash?). 

He laughs openly when he hits the Tweet chain of him @ing Applebee’s asking if Tony was there. Them replying that they hoped he found him and then his reply of Tony being at Chili’s. Tony had called him and bitched for thirty minutes about he’d never be caught dead in a Chili’s let alone an  _ Applebee’s _ . 

He loses it completely when he hits his tweet to Cracker Barrel. It reads “today is my birthday cracker bargel! gonna come eat some good beans!” The Avengers group chat had been a shitstorm of laughing-cry-face emoji’s and Tony sent through a voice message that was just him screaming. The longer Steve looks at the tweet the more he laughs. 

When he gets to the bottom of the list he sees a collection of links, and they all have the same running theme: Captain America Doesn’t Understand the Internet. He opens them all and is horrified to find all new posts by him with absolutely no repeats something this website is known for (except cracker bargel because apparently, that one is a “classic”). He scrolls to the bottom again and sees links for reaction memes of him trying to understand the internet. 

Steve’s horror grows as he Google’s “Captain America Meme” and sees  _ thousands _ of results pop up. But the main ones are from the “news” website he was just on, links to the articles he’s read and it’s there that something stands out. 

A name: Bucky Barnes. 

He is going to give this guy a piece of his mind. 

Steve types the name into the search bar and ends up on his twitter (@BonkyBornes? what is that?) and sees that of course, he follows Steve. His header photo is something Steve has learned is called a “cursed image” and is of a sad fat cat with a pat of butter on top. His icon photo is a young slightly chubby boy grinning at the camera, and Steve assumes it must be Bucky Barnes as a teenager. Or maybe Bucky Barnes  _ is _ a teenager. The photo looks old but he knows what a filter is, thanks. He can’t get into a Twitter feud with a 15 year old about how he does actually know how to use the internet. 

Steve scrolls through the feed a bit, looking for something to call Bucky Barnes out on. It’s a lot of “articles” Bucky Barnes has written (though admittedly, there are some actual  _ articles _ that Steve opens for later), retweets with biting commentary directed at conservative politicians (it does  _ not _ make Steve smile), a few retweets from Steve himself, and some memes. It’s then he sees a photo of a Pinterest cake fail with a link to an Instagram account and clicks the link. Steve’s already thinking up a biting reply about how Steve’s tweets are at least better than this guys baking when the page opens and all of Steve’s well laid plans fly out the window. 

Bucky Barnes is not a teenager and honestly, thank  _ God _ , but he is probably the most attractive man Steve has ever seen. His Insta is a mixture of photos of him, New York, and food. The food is 75% Pinterest fails and 25% avocado concoctions with an occasional Starbucks. He has a few artsy shots of New York and the classic “only in New York” photos like a pigeon walking around with a cigarette in its mouth. But Steve’s not interested in any of those. 

Bucky is probably in his late twenties with thick chestnut brown hair that falls beautifully around his face. He has aristocratic features, high cheekbones, and a sharp jawline, with a pouty mouth and steely ocean blue eyes. He’s fucking stunning and to top it all off this guy is way more jacked than any journalist should be. He has a fair few gym selfies, and for a few moments all Steve can think is  _ hnnnggg shoulders  _ and how much he wants to get his legs thrown over them. 

Steve’s embarrassment that this guy thinks he doesn’t know how to use the internet doubles. Suddenly it’s  _ imperative _ that Bucky knows Steve understands the internet. It doesn’t matter why. 

Before he can think better of it, Steve hits the DM button and taps out:  _ Hello, this is Steve Rogers. I just wanted to let you know that I do actually understand how the internet works. _

Steve smiles to himself as he hits send. There, now Bucky won’t think he’s some type of computer illiterate 100 year old. He’s a perfectly computer literate 100 year old. 

A reply comes sooner than Steve expects it. 

**_You sure about that, Steve Rogers?_** Then there’s a screenshot of a post that he had made not a day earlier. 

_ Look, _ Steve types,  _ that was a joke. _

**_Sure it was pal_ **

_ Haven’t you ever heard of trolling? _

**_Are you asking because you’re trolling me?_ **

_ No, I was trolling Tony. _

**_Like I said sure_ **

_ I’m serious! _

**_I believe you_ **

No, this guy doesn’t. He’s indulging Steve like he’s a very small child who has just pressed a plastic phone to his ear and said: “it’s for you.” Or worse, like an old many who just doesn’t know any better. But Steve does know better, so he types,  _ No, you don’t.  _

**_How can you tell?_ **

_ You don’t sound like you do. _

**_Oh Steve, this is a text conversation. You can’t hear me_ **

_ Are you serious?  _ Steve is ready to throw his phone across the room. The nerve of this guy! 

**_I know the internet can be hard and confusing, it’s okay. No one thinks any less of you for it._ **

It’s petty and vindictive but Steve can’t handle Bucky’s patronizing messages anymore, so he texts,  _ Your cakes look like shit.  _

**_Now, that’s just rude_ **

_ You’re the one being rude, you jerk! You won’t listen to me. _

**_Hey I’m listening to you!_ **

_ But you don’t believe me. _

**_Why do you care if I believe you?_ **

Now, that is a valid question, Steve will admit, but he doesn’t really have an answer for it. All he knows is that he got one look at Bucky Barnes’s face and didn’t want him to see Steve as…old? Ignorant? Undateable? Steve shakes his head. He is  _ not _ into a guy who calls himself  _ Bonky Bornes. _

_ I don’t! _

**_Then why are you still texting me?_ **

_ It’s not that I care that you believe me, it’s the principle of the thing.  _

**_Which is?_ **

_ That I am being unfairly characterized! This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me and I was frozen for 70 years. _

**_Huh_ **

**_Maybe you do understand the internet_ **

**_Or you’re just dramatic_ **

_ What if it’s both? _

**_Fair enough_ **

**_But why are you telling me this???_ **

_ You “write” all those “articles” about me. _

**_Hey buddy easy on the quotations there_ **

Steve snorts. 

_ You didn’t actually write them. You took screenshots from my account. _

**_For your information that is called investigated journalism and I spent four years and thousands of dollars learning how to screenshot so you had better put some RESPECK ON MY NAME_ **

Steve is at a loss. He has no idea what Bucky has just said. Respeck on his name? Steve opens the internet and Googles the phrase just as another message from Bucky comes through. 

**_I’m just fucking with you man_ **

**_I know that those articles don’t have any journalistic value but no one wants to hear about the war in Yemen so here we are_ **

**_Plus they’re funny and pay the bills_ **

**_If it makes you feel better you not knowing how the internet works has kept me fed_ **

Steve frowns at that. Clearly posting screenshots of Steve’s social media mishaps isn’t what Bucky wanted to do. And it upsets Steve that that’s what is keeping food on his table instead of actual important stories that affect people’s lives. 

_ It makes me feel marginally better, but I wish I wasn’t your main source of income. Besides the fact that I actually DO know how the internet works.  _

**_Hey I never said you were my MAIN source of income_ **

**_That’s the Kardashians_ **

**_And Steve, my sweet summer child, you really don’t know how the internet works_ **

_ Fine. Enlighten me.  _

**_Nah_ **

**_Gotta keep my second source of income_ **

Steve doesn’t really know what to say to that, but a sickening feeling hits him as he realizes what exactly he’s done.

_ You’re not going to post these messages are you?  _ ****

**_No_ **

**_Don’t worry_ **

**_No one would believe they’re real_ **

Steve breathes a sigh of relief at that. He’s about to close out the conversation and drink the rest of the Asgardian mead Thor left him to forget the last ten minutes of his life and move on. But then Bucky sends a message. 

**_But really Steve Rogers, why are you telling me this? Why are you so upset people think you don’t know how to use the internet?_ **

He huffs out a breath as he mulls over his options. Finally, he says fuck it and then hits the video chat button on the conversation. Bucky answers almost immediately his beautifully confused face filling the screen. 

“Holy shit, it really is you. Well, I’ll be damned.” 

Steve snorts, “Who’d you think it was?” 

“Dunno. An intern or something.” 

“Well, it’s me in the flesh, sort to speak.” 

Bucky smirks at him. “So, care to tell me what this is about?”

“People don’t take me seriously,” Steve says abruptly. 

Bucky’s brow furrows. “Uh, pretty sure people take Captain America pretty damn seriously. Not sure if you know this, but most people think you’re the best thing since sliced bread.” 

“That’s what I mean,” Steve explains, “People take  _ Captain America _ seriously, not Steve Rogers. And for the record, I’m technically older than sliced bread.” 

“I’m not sure what to do with this info here, Steve.”

Steve sighs. “You asked me why I was telling you I know how to use the internet. I’m telling you because people see me as some fumbling old man, scared of Wifi, and holed up in my apartment listening to Bing Crosby on a record player by candlelight or something. Look, I get that I’m old and I don’t know what Game of Thrones is or how to play Mario Kart but I’m not some senile senior citizen that yells about how much better it was back in the day. I  _ missed  _ 70 years. I didn’t ignore them.” 

Bucky looks a little unsettled and says, “Hey, look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you’re resistant to change or anything. I mean if anything I think you’re probably adjusting to the 21st century admirably. I mean you do use technology and you’ve yet to say anything racist or sexist or homophobic.”

Steve smiles a little ruefully. “You don’t know anything about the area I grew up in, do you?” 

Bucky shakes his head. “Can’t say that I do.” 

“It was progressive, to say the least.” 

“What does that mean?”

“It was a queer neighborhood.” 

Bucky blinks. “Oh. Well, that doesn’t mean that you are accepting, you know?” 

“I chose to live there.” 

“ _ Oh _ .”

“Yeah,” Steve says watching Bucky’s face go through a range of emotions. He steels himself and says, “And there’s another reason why I wanted you to know that I know how to use the internet.”

“What’s that?”

“How about I tell you over coffee?” 

Bucky smiles and it’s the most brilliant thing Steve has ever seen even through the slight fuzzy video. 

Eight Months Later

Steve’s phone buzzes and he pulls it out to see a new text from Bucky. He glances at Bucky who’s in the kitchen pouring them both cups of coffee. 

“You know I really don’t understand the whole text in the same room, thing.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re old, babe.” Bucky brings in the mugs. “But it’s my latest article. I thought you might like it.” 

“You know I read them without you send them to me.”

Bucky groans as he sits down next to Steve. “Just open it, Steve.” 

Steve rolls his eyes good naturedly and does as Bucky says. His breath catches when he sees the title. 

**23 Reasons I Want to Marry Steve Rogers**

When Steve finishes the article he has tears in his eyes and Bucky is holding out a ring. 

He says yes. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! You can find me on [tumblr](http://bangyababy.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/bangyababy)!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [23 Reasons I Want to Marry Steve Rogers](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23706112) by [FanFicAddict7](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFicAddict7/pseuds/FanFicAddict7)




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